Good morning and Happy Friday! Wishing all of my readers a safe weekend. Here is my latest post about how an exercise junkie (me!) turned into a yoga lover and why I have stuck with yoga! ... See MoreSee Less

I sometimes refer to myself as a recovering exercise perfectionist or compulsive exerciser. For years I had a rigorous routine and made sure to crack the whip on myself often regarding my performance. Perfectionism is something I have struggled with for... #beingpresent #exercise #honoringthebody

I sometimes refer to myself as a recovering exercise perfectionist or compulsive exerciser. For years I had a rigorous routine and made sure to crack the whip on myself often regarding my performance. Perfectionism is something I have struggled with for... #beingpresent #exercise #honoringthebody

As many of you know, I spent some time living on the Navajo (Dine, meaning “The People” ) Reservation, at Black Mesa/ Big Mountain many years ago.

It was a very transformation period in my life, educationally, personally and spiritually. I always look back on this time fondly, not only because of my own personal development, but because of the people I met, the bits of language I learned and especially how these people who really don’t have much, made delicious food based on the foods that are around and the plants and animals their people have raised for generations. If it were not for their sheep (and other livestock) and their gardens, many would be on the verge of hunger all the time, or relegated to eating foods full of preservatives and chemicals from the government. The people I lived with tried to feed the government cheese to their dogs, and they wouldn’t touch it.

Perhaps the most important food in the Dine’ culture (besides sheep) are the Three Sisters: corn, squash and beans. These three crops form the foundation of their diet and are planted together in mounds – corn in the middle and squash and beans surrounding it. The corn is planted first, once it has grown some, it provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide necessary nitrogen to the soil that the other plants need to grow and the squash spreads along the ground, using up most of the sunlight, preventing weeds. The squash leaves also act as a “living mulch,” that retains moisture in the soil, while the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests.

Their goal is to raise awareness through the blogosphere for “World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.” Something that I felt driven to participate in.

Since the Dine’ are environmentalists at the core of their culture and many of them don’t even have electricity or running water where they live, I felt food that reflects their culture and relationship to the Earth and the planet would be appropriate here. For Val and Ivy’s event they are asking that we submit a recipe which represents our country (these are the first Americans) that would feed at least 6 people (check). They are looking especially for family favourites, regional favourites that uses local and perhaps seasonal ingredients (check again!)

So in order to honor the time I spent with the Dine’ I really wanted to make a dish that incorporates the Three Sisters and serve it with some fry bread. Fry bread is a necessary part of all Dine’ meals. Sometimes there is corn bread (some of the best corn bread is made with blue corn meal), but fry bread is the most common. I know that with the family I stayed with, it was made first thing in the morning – each loaf was kneaded and then fried in a cast iron skillet. Usually enough was made to last the whole day. It took me quite a long time to get it halfway decent- as I am not a kneader by nature. Everyone always knew when the billigana (“white girl”) made the fry bread as it was usually not as soft and always oddly shaped…still is…

This time, I also tried to make the fry bread a tinsy bit healthier by using some whole wheat flour as well!

Hope you enjoy this Native American inspired meal! Great for the fall, especially….click through to meet our newest family member…

3 TBS olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 small jalapeno (less if you are not spicy!), minced
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 lb of squash – (I used a funky kabocha squash, because I had never had one before), cooked and chopped into cubes (about 2 cups)
1 small can of tomatoes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp green chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels – fresh is best, but frozen is fine too

METHOD:

Make the polenta. Whisk together polenta, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add it to the 5 cups of boiling water. Stir together and reduce heat to low. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes, or until polenta is cooked and thick. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400F. Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Over medium heat cook the onion for about 6-8 minutes until soft. Add the peppers (bell and jalapeÃ±o) and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the squash, can of tomatoes, coriander, cumin and green chili. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add some water (only a few TBS at a time) if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir in the beans and corn and cook another 5 minutes.

Coat a large baking dish with a little olive oil. Spread about 2 cups of polenta on the bottom of the pan. Spoon three sisters mixture on top and smooth the remaining polenta over the top. Brush top with a little more olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes or until top is golden. Serve with Fry Bread.

Combine the first 5 ingredients and slowly add enough warm water to form dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until it is smooth soft and not sticky. Cover and let rest 1 hour. Shape into small balls and pat into flat circles about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Set aside.

In skillet, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil. Brown dough circles on each side and drain on paper towels.

Great entry Jenn! I LOVE the puppy. He is soooooo incredibly cute. He will love going for walks with you!

Just remember to take a bag with you. How horrible would it be to be in the middle of historical St. Augustine and have your dog do his business in the middle of the road/sidewalk and you to not have a bag with you???!!! LOL

Lovely post Jenn. I got goose bumps reading all along your post. It’s lovely how you chose a recipe of the natives of America and highlighted their culture and way of living. Thanks very much for participating. Hope some more of your readers will follow your example and help spread the word.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I grew up in a town just outside of a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. And I’ve been having a serious craving for fry bread lately – especially Navajo tacos!! This casserole sounds amazing as well!

Wow, I loved reading that. Very interesting. I knew about the 3 sisters, but your time on the reservation sounds intriquing.
New pup is adorable!Oh, and the angel thing, that’s a hoax, they suck you in to get you to take them home, then the real pup comes out….. beware
I will have to blog my doggie biscuits for you both.

A very interesting read Jenn…always learn something new when I read about your past experiences. This is a lovely dish and I love that polenta topping. And a big hello to Peperoncino! He looks so cute…can’t wait to see more of him.

Hi Jenn. I love your post. My father was 1/4 apache from Mescalero. So personally, I appreciate your sentiments. The last time I was there was for a ceremonial, many,many years ago. “Drums never stop!” I like you switching the whole wheat in the fry bread. I’ll have to try it. Great post my Queen, as always.

Oh how I LOVE fry bread! I would marry it. I just made some for the first time in years and it was heaven. If there were a way to make it without all of the calories I would eat it everyday. I am so going to try this and see how it fares! The pic looks like something I can’t resist!

How cool that you lived on a Reservation! I didn’t know that, that must have been a great experience {as you said it was}!

PS -Not you too! I can’t believe you have the same curse I have for attracting weirdies and then letting them off the hook by humoring them and their weirdness. It’s such a shame…

Thank you so much participating in our event Jenn. We think it is one of the important issues that we can try and solve.Both of your dishes are perfect. Thank you also for sharing your experiences with the Dine with us. It sounds like they had the knowledge to make something out of nothing which is a valuable lesson…and Peperoncini is a cutie:D

How cute is that new baby?!?! I love him.
Give him hugs for me.
I think that it is wonderful of you to highlight food/native/environmental issues paired with a great recipe. Plus I like the pic of you with the lamb. Too cute.
Cheers.

Hi Nikki – I don’t think the powdered milk is necessary, but you will see it in a lot of the fry bread recipes. That is because a lot of the Navajo don’t have electricity, so no refrigeration, plus they also get the milk packets from the government rations.

THANKS EVERYONE for your comments! I am still trying to get used to not answering each one! I promise I love the comments and I appreciate all your thoughts so much!

yummy dish – I love that sort of thing – have a recipe called Mexicale pie which is similar but I love the name Three Sisters Casserole – I have heard of the Three Sisters before but I don’t think I have ever heard an explanation that makes so much sense as yours. Thanks. And love your name for your pup – looks like a cutie – am sure he is keeping you on your toes!

Oooh, I LOVE fry bread! I used to make it with my grandmother and great aunt all the time when I was younger. I was just telling Dustin about it a few days ago, and am making it this weekend with my cousin! That’s funny that you’d post about it right now. lol.

Today is World Food Day Jenn. Thank you so much for participating in our conga line of international dishes once again. The party is starting:D

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Thank you so much for all your comments. I enjoy reading each and every single one of them. Please keep them coming because I do appreciate the feedback and I apologize that I can't respond to everyone individially. See you in the blogosphere!